Adjustable gastric banding apparatus have provided an effective and substantially less invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery and other conventional surgical weight loss procedures. Despite the positive outcomes of invasive weight loss procedures, such as gastric bypass surgery, it has been recognized that sustained weight loss can be achieved through a laparoscopically-placed gastric band, for example, the LAP-BAND® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band or the LAP-BAND AP® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band. Generally, gastric bands are placed about the cardia, or upper portion, of a patient's stomach forming a stoma that restricts the passage of food into a lower portion of the stomach. When the stoma is of an appropriate size that is restricted by a gastric band, food held in the upper portion of the stomach provides a feeling of satiety or fullness that discourages overeating. Unlike gastric bypass procedures, the gastric band apparatus are reversible and require no permanent modification to the gastrointestinal tract.
Over time, a stoma created by a gastric band may need adjustment in order to maintain an appropriate size, which is neither too restrictive nor too passive. Some non-invasive procedures for adjustment of gastric bands without the use of a hypodermic needle have been proposed. For example, a remotely adjustable gastric band is a medical device which allows a healthcare worker to adjust a gastric band without requiring hypodermic needles to connect to an implanted, subcutaneous access port. A handheld controller can be used to send radio frequency waves for powering and communicating with the implanted device. The implanted device can tighten or relax the gastric band as requested by the healthcare worker via the handheld controller.
Birk, et al., U.S. Patent Pub. No. 2010-0010291, and Birk, et al., U.S. Ser. No. 12/705,245, which are commonly-assigned and co-pending with the present application, are incorporated herein in their entirety by this specific reference. Both of these applications disclose certain approaches to implantable systems that may be relevant.
Some mechanically adjustable implantable devices have a disadvantage of becoming inoperable if the adjustment mechanism fails. Furthermore, because the motor and the driving mechanisms are located near the restricting band itself, they are more subject to strain and damage from the implantation process. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a remotely adjustable gastric band where the motor is separated from the restricting band to reduce the strain from the implantation process such that the risk of damage during implantation is decreased.
Thus, there continues to remain a need for more effective implantable motor systems for use with adjustable gastric bands, particularly such implantable motor systems with increased and more efficient motoring capability.